I'll Say Goodbye
by nwsbysboomerang
Summary: Severus Snape talkes to Draco Malfoy about the choice of loyalties in the great War.


**I'll Say Goodbye**

Nwsbysboomerang

Disclaimer: Nothing from the Harry Potter world is mine.

Description: Snape confronts Draco Malfoy about his choice to join the Dark Side.

Professor Snape sat at his desk in his dungeon office, working feverously on grading the last of his 7th year Potions exams. He pursed his lips as he wrote a solid "A" on the top of Neville Longbottom's paper. It had been amazing when Longbottom had made it into the N.E.W.T. class and now he had passed. Wonders of all wonders.

There was a loud rapping noise a moment later. The sound reverberated off the walls and boomeranged back to the door.

"Come in." Snape said coldly. The door creaked open and in strode Draco Malfoy.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Snape?" He asked, throwing himself uninvited into the seat before his favorite teacher's desk.

"Yes, I did." Snape replied, looking up. "I see you have invited yourself to a seat."

Draco smiled thinly. He wasn't intimidated by Snape, knowing that his professor would never subtract points for his rudeness. No, Snape was too overcome by his urge to flatten Gryffindor at the House Cup.

"I wanted to ask you what you planned to do with yourself when you left school." Snape said, trying to avoid his real question.

"Get involved with the War, I suppose. Just like everyone else." Draco smirked. Snape frowned. Knowing the history of the Malfoy family he could easily guess whose side Draco was rooting for. Even though Lord Voldemort had been killed by Harry Potter, his Death Eaters were still loyal to his memory and fought at no ends to kill the Potter boy. That was something Draco would love to do. Revenge for all of the things Potter was that Draco wasn't – a hero, loved, good at Quidditch, free…

"I didn't know that wasn't an option." Snape sneered. "I was more or less asking how you planned to do that."

"I want to get right out into the front line." Draco said, propping his feet up onto his disgusted teacher's desk. He spread his hands out, as if envisioning the headlines that would be his. "Right into the feuds, that's where I want to be. I want to use curses and hexes and jinxes and counter curses all out in the real world…"

"Become an Auror if you want that." Snape advised.

Draco laughed. "Like Potter?" He scoffed. "Like I want to work with him, Weasel, and Mudblood for the rest of my life."

"Watch your language." Snape snapped. He didn't honestly care if he insulted the know-it-all Granger, but he shouldn't use that terminology to do so.

"Why do you care? It's just Granger."

"Despite that fact, you should not be so vulgar in front of the staff. You may have points docked. Learn this lesson early, Draco, and save yourself trouble."

"I'm leaving next week."

"There are worse things in the world than having points docked, then. Know that your language could cause you to have many enemies and few allies when you need them." Snape gave a sharp look to the pair of shoes occupying his desk. "Take your feet off my desk." He barked.

Draco dropped his feet from the desk and put all four feet of the chair back down. He looked at his professor with a look of surprise.

"Professor, you aren't giving these interviews to everyone, why are you asking me these questions?" He asked.

Snape was silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should answer. Finally, he stood up and walked across the room to where a bookshelf stood, filled with dusty old books. He pretended to scan the list of titles for a particular book for a few seconds before answering the question.

"All people make choices in their lives that will distinguish the paths they will be taking towards their separate ends. Everything you do will determine the turns you make, the people you align yourself, and the end product of what you are making of yourself. When I was your age, I was similar to you. I had an odd relationship with my parents – a tense one, much like the bond I feel when I enter your own home. As a result, the choices I made later in my life were... unseemly and left me only with problems. I was very fortunate and blessed to have realized my mistake and turned away from the doom I had chosen while there was still time." Professor Snape turned around and looked at the boy in front of him, who was watching him with realization slowly dawning on his face. "I do not want you to follow the path I began to its end. I want to know where you are standing and where you plan to go. You, of all people, are at risk of a terrible end."

Draco was sat in stunned silence after the speech was over. Finally, he spoke.

"So what do you want to know?"

"I want to know whose side you are fighting on." Snape said. "If you plan to fight for the Light Side, then you have my blessing to do so. However, if you take the Dark road, your trip will be difficult, and it will be our parting of ways. While you may be my favorite student, once we reach that crossroad in a few weeks, I'll say goodbye and never set eyes on you again, unless it be in a battle for the right."

Draco was silent again. He now knew where his teacher stood.

"So who will you be fighting for?" Snape asked. He held his breath.

Draco seemed to think for a moment. He knew that this was going to mean everything. Standing up he walked to the door and held the handle for a moment. Turning back around, he gave his answer.

"Voldemort."


End file.
